Lombe's Mill was the first successful silk throwing mill in Britain. It was built on an island on the River Derwent in Derby. It was built after John Lombe visited Piedmont in 1717 and returned to England with details of the Italian silk throwing machines – the filatoio and the torcitoio – and some Italian craftsmen. The architect was George Sorocold. At its height, the mill employed some 300 people.
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Lombe's Mill in the context of Derby
Derby (/ˈdɑːrbi/ DAR-bee) is a cathedral city and unitary authority area on the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original county town. As a unitary authority, Derby is administratively independent from Derbyshire County Council. The population of Derby is 274,149 (2024).
The Romans established the town of Derventio, which was later captured by the Anglo-Saxons and then by the Vikings who made Djúra-bý one of the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw. Initially a market town, Derby grew rapidly in the industrial era and was home to Lombe's Mill, an early British factory and it contains the southern part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. With the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, Derby became a centre of the British rail industry. Despite having a cathedral since 1927, Derby did not gain city status until 1977.
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